GENRE: In Focus

This article is part of a special series: Air Quality in our Cities Five out of 15 Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses that the Regional Transport Office officials from the Transport Department had randomly inspected had failed the emission tests.That was in 2016. Recent reports said that BMTC bus breakdowns have considerably reduced compared to previous years due to an improvement in their maintenance procedures. Would that also mean that there is an improvement in BMTC buses following emission standards? What are the measures taken by BMTC to ensure that their buses follow emission norms? What are the external measures…

This article is part of a special series: Air Quality in our Cities Our earlier article in the series traced the long history of the battle between Whitefield residents and the Graphite India plant, the polluting operations of which had become a serious hazard in the area. Interestingly, the role of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) itself came under the scanner as the tussle with GIL continued. When the matter finally reached the top court, the KSPCB drew flak from the SC on the matter of GIL’s air pollution, especially in view of the overall pollution in Bangalore.…

“Anna, can you do a video on how to become a Swiggy delivery boy?” A popular query posed to those who do YouTube explainer videos. Many have taken to responding to these requests. The videos garner considerable views and the comments section is rife with questions from eager job seekers about the various aspects of the job ranging from salary to working hours and perks. The roads of Chennai are a sea of orange, black and red these days, as the food delivery services Swiggy, Zomato and UberEats grow in size. Swiggy, the leading food delivery service became a unicorn,…

This article is part of a special series: Air Quality in our Cities The mood in Whitefield and adjoining areas of Bangalore has been upbeat of late. The citizen’s group from the area created history on October 29th by getting a Supreme Court (SC) order which, for the first time, pulled up Graphite India limited (GIL) operating a plant in the area, as a serious offender contributing to air pollution by imposing a fine of INR 50 lakh based on the “polluter pays principle.” “We are very happy; we entered the SC as intervention petitioners challenging Graphite India Limited (GIL)…

This article is supported by SVP Cities of India Fellowship It is an 8th grade science class. Students are learning the concepts of Force and Pressure. The lesson starts off with activities, involving them in a game —a tug of war or arm wrestling each other. Throughout the lesson, there are several images and videos that demonstrate the concepts. Their homework for the day is to help at home in preparing rotis, which would involve activities such as separating the hardened dough, rolling it etc — all connected to the concepts that they had studied earlier that day. This is…

No treatment, no vote, is the battle cry from Jodhpur, about to go to polls in end-November. As the incidence of dengue fever rises, awareness and anger against the government is shooting up. The Dengue virus is a global citizen, but loves cities, especially India's dirty towns. This year, it seems to be partial to urban Maharashtra, which reported 4,667 cases by September 30, 2018, according to the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP). This was followed by Odisha with 3,883 cases, Kerala (3,660), Andhra Pradesh (3,314), Himachal Pradesh (3,303) and Rajasthan (3,022). The virus also seems to like the southern…

This article is supported by SVP Cities of India Fellowship When Shobha Suryanarayan, a volunteer with Acharyas for a Better Community (ABC), first approached Vijayanagar Lower Primary School in Whitefield, the students could barely string together a sentence in English. The school had over 50 children from classes 1 to 5, but there was only one teacher and a headmistress (HM) to teach all of them. Children in classes 1, 2 and 3 would sit together; they were taught by the HM once she finished her official work. Children in classes 4 and 5 would sit together, and were taught…

This article is supported by SVP Cities of India Fellowship “My children go to a private school Madam, it is close to home, they learn English and mathematics”, says Selvi with a big smile on her face. Selvi, a Marathahalli-based domestic worker, like many others from low income households in Bangalore, finds private schools a better choice for her child. Research has often pointed out that there is not much difference in the learning outcomes of children in government schools and in private schools. Yet in Bengaluru, like many urban centres in the country, children across income groups are flocking…

This article is part of a special series: Air Quality in our Cities At a time when diesel and petrol prices have gone through the roof, a certain ambiguity prevails among many vehicle owners and operators in Chennai. They mull over more economical options, and one auto rickshaw driver sums it up saying, “Anything that is not as expensive as petrol and diesel would help us make some profit.” While street-side discussions focus mostly on the cost aspect, an equally pertinent and critical angle is that of pollution. According to 'The Urban Commute And How It Contributes to Pollution and…

After having completed the first phase of the Telangana Land Records Updation Programme, targeted at improving documentation of rural land records, the state government will be initiating the next phase focused on covering urban land records. While the first phase has been hailed as a success, there have been some glaring omissions from the scope of the overall exercise. Thus, it would be a good idea to look into some of these deficiencies before initiating the next phase of updates, looking at urban land records. In November 2017, the Chief Minister of Telangana made a lengthy statement in the state…